Fitchburg crash victim's license was suspended in September

An Ashby call firefighter who was killed in a Sunday morning car accident along with her 16-year-old son had a suspended driver's license, according to the state's Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Michelle Martens, 36, had her license suspended on Sept. 9 for failing to pay a citation issued for a right-of-way intersection violation in Fitchburg on June 25, 2012.

Martens' license was also in a non-renewal status for outstanding E-ZPass fines and parking tickets in Somerville.

Martens' son, Justin Fournier, held a valid Class D learner's permit, which was issued in September 2012.

Investigators with the Worcester District Attorney's Office have not determined who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Under state law, a driver who holds a Class D learner's permit must be accompanied by a licensed operator who holds a valid driver's license.

According to a release from Early's office, a Kia Sportage carrying Martens and Fournier crossed the center line on Ashby State Road in Fitchburg at 10:30 a.m. and struck a Chevy Silverado driven by Wayne Patnaude, 55, of Ashby.

Patnaude, who has been an Ashby firefighter for the past 15 years, suffered a crushed right heel, as well as a right arm injury and a minor skin injury on his head. As of Monday he was awaiting surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The cause of the crash has yet to be released, but Ashby Fire Chief William Seymour Jr.

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said icy conditions caused by heavy winds blowing snow into the road may have been a factor. Martens and Fournier were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash and were ejected from the vehicle.

Seymour said Tuesday he was not aware that Martens did not have a valid driver's license. Seymour said volunteer firefighters are required to have valid driver's licenses, but said the status of their licenses is not checked by the fire department.

"It's up to them to let us know," he said.

Martens had worked as a call firefighter-EMT for the past four years. Fournier, a junior at North Middlesex Regional High School, had just joined the department as an auxiliary member, according to Seymour.

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